1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to safety guidance systems for buildings and structures in low or zero visibility situations such as the absence of electrical power at night or more particularly in a fire situation where the air is heavily charged with smoke from ceiling to floor.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In today's global society substantial numbers of people find themselves traveling for either business or pleasure. As such, they take on a transient status with respect to their location in office buildings for business or in hotels, motels, or in some instances cruise ships. In this transient status with good visibility, the individual can normally traverse the particular facility with no problem nor anxiety. However, in situations such as a power black out or more importantly in a fire situation, where the air is heavily laden with smoke, the individual is denied the familiarity and the visual guide posts by which he maneuvers about the building. For instance, signs are not visible, nor are doorways, emergency exits, and blind dead end passageways.
Buildings are equipped with emergency lighting fixtures and in some instances, there have been developed luminescent signs for use in low visibility or smoke situations. However, in a fire situation with heavily laden smoke, these luminescent signs may be insufficient and the emergency lighting system may fail. In such a situation, the individual is in an extremely anxious state and his or her life is in danger as oxygen is depleted from the air and the individual may not even be able to open their eyes to see due to the burning sensation of the smoke.
One axiom with respect to a fire situation in either a familiar or unfamiliar area is to get as close to the floor as possible since the heat and smoke will rise and breathable air will be found closest to the floor.
The apparatus and system disclosed herein is designed to be positioned adjacent to or on the floor in the hallways and corridors of hotels, motels, office buildings, cruise ships, hospitals, nursing homes and the like. It provides a tactile directional system for the individual and guides the individual towards the closest emergency exit and identifies that emergency exit and the location of the handle on that emergency exit. The system also identifies cross corridors which are dead ends or which should not be taken. Still further the system identifies to the individual when the individual is approaching the emergency exit door.
Due to its tactile nature, the system can be operated by the individual user with his or her eyes closed which is more often the case particularly in a smoke laden situation such as a hallway of a large building.
The system can be installed as an after market item and with respect to its positioning on the baseboard moldings or it could be incorporated as a preformed protrusion in mass produced baseboard moldings such that the color of the protrusion would match the general color of the baseboard molding.
The system is described for and has primary application for hallways in hotels, motels, office buildings, cruise ships, hospitals and nursing homes because these facilities are visited upon by transient individuals who lack familiarity with the structure. Further, the aforesaid structures normally contain hallways which are free from furniture or other obstructions. The system could certainly have application in other structures where hallways and corridors are uninterrupted by furniture or obstructions. It could even have application in the home if such hallways or corridors were present. Its drawback in the home and in particular rooms is that normally there is furniture positioned against the walls which would prevent the individual from uninterrupted contact with the system. Still further, in familiar locations such as the home, the individual has familiarity with the structure because of the type and location of the furniture.